Stuck With You
by Masked-Writer-In-Disguise
Summary: KakaIru. Not related to Stumble. "The door opened and Kakashi raised his eye to meet his captor. It was impolite to ignore the host, after all. Kakashi was nothing if not polite to strangers."
1. Prologue

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Yay! Prolouges are proloug-y!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything except the idea…_

_**Inspiration:**__ Dr. House, Stuck Like Glue- Sugarland, Somewhere I Belong- Linkin Park and Stuck With You- Voltaire ft. Amanda Palmer… Yep!_

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_Stuck With You:_

_Prolouge_

_By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise_

Silence; deafening silence. Kakashi froze. In general, silence in the forest was a bad thing, but this silence was worse than just a normal silence. The forest was holding its breath. Something was coming, something bad.

And that was all the warning the Copy-Nin had before the whistling sound of a dart reached his ears. He barely managed to dodge it before he was attacked. The opposing shinobi bore no identifying markings, and Kakashi really couldn't care about who he was fighting; he gave back as good as he got. Kakashi was tired, having been returning to Konoha after a two week solo mission, but he easily took care of his seen opponent and continued on, not caring about the one with the dart gun.

But there were more unmarked shinobi, many more, and what they lacked in skill they made up for in sheer numbers, easily over-powering the Copy-Nin.

When Kakashi came to he was in a dark place, but he didn't really feel up to looking around. His chakra was being drained by shackles around his ankles and his hands were immobilized in stiff stocks about a foot long; the Sharingan eye hid beneath a strip of cloth wrapped firmly around Kakashi's head. His mask was gone, as was his shirt, shoes and weapons' pouch. While the precautions were a little overboard (Kakashi had had very little chakra at the time of his capture, the Sharingan was a chocolate brown without any chakra feeding it, arms and legs were sluggish without chakra for speed), Kakashi understood the respect he was being shown, even if it was a little sick.

Whoever his captors were, they knew whom they had captured.

Kakashi tested his bonds and range of movement; tight bonds, but no circulation loss, little to no range of movement.

The foot shackles were attached to chains as long as Kakashi was tall and were attached to the base of the wall, and there was a bar between them, keeping his feet a shoulder's width apart. His hands were attached to the spreader bar between his ankles by a chain that was half his height. Damn, these bastards were thorough.

The door opened and Kakashi raised his eye to meet his captor. It was impolite to ignore the host, after all. Kakashi was nothing if not polite to strangers.


	2. Stubborn

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ so this one attacked me in the shower, and I couldn't not write it because I liked it so much. All that I know about it at the moment is that it will be a KakaIru story because I've recently been on a KakaIru kick and this'll make me happy… yep._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I have no ownership of anyone except the plot and I'm kinda happy with that._

_**Inspiration:**__ Well… Dr. House for one… a mixture of Stuck Like Glue- Sugarland, Somewhere I Belong- Linkin Park and Stuck With You- Voltaire ft. Amanda Palmer… wow, strange range of taste there, no?_

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_Stuck With You_

_Chapter 1: Stubborn_

_By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise_

Kakashi glared at the blonde woman currently leaning over the side of his bed as if getting closer to him would drive her words into his head. Why would she do this to him? What the fuck was she thinking? She was the Hokage, goddammit, and she should know that when a shinobi came home from a mission as bad as Kakashi's last, they wanted to go home and sleep. They did not want to be stuck in the hospital with prying nurses and annoying beeping machines and idiot visitors.

Tsunade glared right back.

"Why can't I go home?" Kakashi bit out.

"Kakashi, you were tortured for two months. You need medical attention…" the woman leaned back and pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. "Secondly, because of that torture, I don't want you on your own until I'm sure of your mental condition."

"Why? I'm perfectly fine!"

"No, you're not." The woman reached out to touch him and Kakashi flinched back, even though he knew rationally that Tsunade would never hurt him. It was instinct by now. "See, you're too good a shinobi. I don't want to risk-"

"Me offing myself? Just like my old man, huh?" Kakashi turned his head away.

"Believe it or not, brat, in families, the offspring have basically the same nervous system structure as their parents; Sakumo was depressed and it's not that huge a leap to assume you'd be too. I'm not leaving you alone now. Especially now."

"Is there any way I could get out of here sooner?"

Tsunade stood in silence for a while, gnawing on her lip and thinking things over before suddenly shifting, drawing an involuntary flinch from the copy-nin, and saying, "I could see if you could stay with someone, their place or yours, I don't care, but I don't want you alone right now."

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes, "And that's the only way?"

"Yes."

The silver-haired man drooped visibly and said, "Tell me who and I'll see."

Knowing that was as good as an agreement she'd get out of the man, Tsunade turned to leave. She stopped and said, "And Kakashi, I don't want to be called down here again because you won't let a doctor check you."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Kakashi bit out and flopped back much like a petulant child.

A doctor timidly entered as Tsunade left and began running his charts and checking over his wounds. Even though Kakashi wasn't doing anything to resist the pushy movements, the doctor seemed sure the jonin would start any time, never mind the direct order from his Hokage. Eventually, the invasive inspection was over and the doctor left Kakashi to his thoughts.

Now that he was gone, he could sit and brood in silence. Well, relative silence, anyway. There were still the sounds of beeping machines and families whispering and the nurses talking at the station. At least they'd been kind enough to give him his own room so he didn't have a horrible roommate that would want to talk all the time. He was not in the mood to fucking talk! Kakashi just wanted to get the fuck out of the hospital.

These places just reminded him of death. People came here to die, to give up, and Kakashi never gave up. Any time in the past, it might have been otherwise, but then he'd become a teacher and met Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura. Sai was still new, but even he wouldn't let him give up, and for their sake, he wouldn't want to. Even with the torture he'd been put through, Kakashi wouldn't give up. He was more valuable alive than dead to more than just his village. He had people that depended on him now; he'd forgotten what that had been like because he hadn't had a team that knew him since his own genin days.

Kakashi wasn't sure how long he was left to himself, and he may have fallen asleep somewhere in there, but Tsunade inevitably came back. The silver-haired man watched her warily, both hoping that she had found someone and dreading hearing the name; he was an adult, dammit and he could take care of himself. This babysitting shite was just ridiculous.

The Hokage stepped into the room and grinned a disarming grin, "After much discussion with your team, I have decided that should you choose to leave the hospital, you will be in the care of Iruka Umino. He's agreed to this, should you choose to accept."

Kakashi blinked. "The academy teacher?"

"The very same," Tsunade nodded.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Kakashi sounded hurt.

"I am. It's not every day I get to arrange living arrangements for my shinobi."

"Which one of my students is responsible for this?" Kakashi grimaced and closed his eyes.

"Naruto, naturally," Tsunade replied. "You're not allowed to hurt him."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kakashi grumbled.

"Wonderful. You don't have to decide right now, but I would like your answer by tomorrow's check-out and no later, otherwise you're stuck here, brat."

The woman left and Kakashi sighed. Of course she'd decide on the one person in the entire village that hated his guts. If someone even tried to deny that fact, all Kakashi had to do was point them to Team 7's first Chunnin Exam. The little academy teacher had dared to question Kakashi's judgment in front of his peers and the Hokage. Then the third had told him to stand down and Iruka never forgave Kakashi for that.

Of course it was Kakashi's fault.

Now the jonin couldn't go into the mission's room without getting an earful from the fiery sensei, and quite frankly, Kakashi was sick of being chewed out over something as trifle as spelling. In the grand scheme of things, how a mission report is filled out is rather insignificant. Not handing a report in at all is a justified reason to get angry, but not half the things Kakashi did. None of the other shinobi were subjected to the same amounts of public humiliation.

But it was either face the music and allow himself to live with Iruka or stay in this godsforsaken excuse for a hospital. He was honestly torn between the two options. Kakashi felt that as much as he hated the hospital, getting yelled at by Iruka-sensei all day was a poor alternative.

Even if he was allowed to check out himself, he wouldn't be able to do much; he was too badly injured. His right arm was too badly mangled to be of any use with the dislocated shoulder and the pulled muscles; his left leg had been broken in three places, two of which were in the femur; he had open wounds peppering his entire body and he needed his right hand to do most everything. Not to even consider how they'd used him; those memories would be buried very deeply and no amount of therapy would ever bring them to the surface. Kakashi just would not dwell on that thought; having to live through it was bad enough. He would not remember it, too.

All in all, the thought that he'd be totally dependent on the school teacher rankled his pride, but what choice did he have? An existence surrounded by nurses that spoke to their patients as though they were children and invasive questions and inspections? As a private person, those things were almost as bad as being a source of ire for an academy teacher, the very one who had managed to tame Naruto.

After deliberating the night away, only sleeping when a nurse had come in and drugged him, Kakashi finally came to a decision. When Tsunade came back followed by her ever present assistant and the pig, the jonin was ready to answer her.

"So, do you have an answer for me?" Tsunade stepped into the room and looked over his charts; then she inspected the monitors; then she turned her full attention to the patient himself.

"I'll go," Kakashi ground out.

"With Iruka?"

"Obviously."

"Good, I'll let him know and send one of your boys to get you some clothes," Tsunade was all business. "I expect you to behave yourself, Kakashi. Try to get along with the man because you'll probably be spending a lot of time together. Your injuries aren't going to heal over night."

"I'll do my best not to piss him off. I'll sit completely still and silent and hope that my blinking doesn't offend his fragile sensibilities," Kakashi retorted.

"This attitude doesn't suit you, brat. I expect you to have cleaned it up by the time your boy gets here… we'll probably have to fit you with a cane because crutches would be ridiculous and you'd never allow yourself to be confined to a wheelchair."

Kakashi sighed and asked, "When will I be able to use my arm again."

"With the proper rest, a week."

The man huffed and slammed his head back into the stiff pillows.

"You can still use your hand, but don't strain it, or it'll take longer."

And the woman left, Shizune and Tonton hot on her heels. Half an hour passed and Naruto came in, carrying a bag containing Kakashi's civvies.

"Hey, sensei! How're you feeling?"

Kakashi decided not to reward that question with a response and simply sat glaring at the blond.

Naruto, who was usually so oblivious to such things, took on a suddenly serious expression and met Kakashi's glare with the no-nonsense eyes that Kakashi was used to seeing on Iruka.

"Quit your bitchin', sensei. Iruka's not gonna kick you when you're down. He's not that bad a guy and if you show him _you_ then the two of you won't have a problem." Naruto stepped forward and began pulling out the clothes he'd brought.

"Iruka also knows how to make nightmares go away," the blond added as an afterthought.

"What makes you think I'll need that particular skill?" the silver-haired man asked and he struggled to a sitting position so Naruto could help him dress.

"I was on the retrieval team, Kakashi. I know how you were when we got you out of there and I saw how you were kept." Serious blue eyes met Kakashi's hooded gray. "Now, take your pride and shove it up your ass and let yourself get some help. I'm not losing you to your own mind, you hear?"

Kakashi kept his eyes carefully flat and nodded, knowing Naruto would take it as a promise to behave and the blond would hold him to it. If Kakashi so much as refused Iruka's aid, Naruto would hike to wherever they were going to be and make Kakashi do whatever it was that man didn't want to do himself.

The jonin took careful, deep breaths as Naruto began removing the hospital gown. While the man knew Naruto would never hurt him, it was difficult to tell his body that and it tensed despite the familiarity of the blond. Dark thoughts leaked into the jonin's mind and his fingernails dug into the palms of his hands. Naruto noticed and began talking about nothing, just whatever happened to pop into his head. Kakashi focused on his student's voice because the sound more than the surroundings reminded him of where he was and Naruto's voice reminded Kakashi of ramen and laughter. They were good memories. The darkness retreated.

When he was clothed, Kakashi swallowed and backed away from the contact as quickly as he could without alarming his student. Fuck! He hated this, hated how his own body was afraid of everything! How the hell was he supposed to get through this?

With Naruto's help, Kakashi swung his legs over the edge of the bed and waited for the doctor to come in and get him something to walk with.

"How're you gonna walk?" Naruto asked after several minutes of tense silence had passed.

"With a cane."

"You can put pressure on your leg?"

"I am not getting in a fucking wheelchair and crutches would be impossible," Kakashi shrugged. "Plus, it was Tsunade herself that did the surgery on my leg and she's the one who told me I could walk with a cane, so I'm assuming she's done something so I won't upset the work she's done."

Finally the doctor came in with a simple metal cane and preformed the customary check-ups and made sure Kakashi could walk with the instrument before he even considered letting the jonin out of the room.

"Is there any pain?" the doctor asked.

"A little, but I'll be fine."

"Sensei…" Naruto sounded very much like a parent scolding their child.

"Naruto, I'm serious."

"I want you to walk as little as possible. Even with what Tsunade did, there is still a chance you'll screw something up. Stay in bed for about two weeks unless it's absolutely necessary that you move." The doctor met Kakashi's eyes. "I mean it, Hatake-san. If the Hokage wasn't allowing your release, I'd keep you here for at least three more weeks. Don't push it."

And then the doctor allowed the man to leave, Naruto trailing along behind, trying to look natural, but Kakashi knew he was there in the event that the jonin should need assistance. He pushed the bitterness out of his thoughts and continued on.

In the lobby, the two shinobi were met by a smiling academy teacher who had just finished signing Kakashi's release papers. The nurse handed over a folder and told Iruka that should there be any problems, not to hesitate to call. With that, they were on their way, Kakashi and Iruka walking side by side.

"We are going to your place first, right?" Iruka asked after they had walked a-ways.

"That would be helpful," Kakashi replied shortly. Even though the sun felt good and the air smelled fresh, rather than tainted with the scent of blood and urine and fecal matter and sex, Kakashi still found it difficult to not be angry at this man. In reality, the jonin was angry at his situation, but Iruka just happened to be the embodiment of Kakashi's frustrations.

"Where do you want to stay? My place or yours?"

"I don't care," Kakashi sighed.

And he really didn't. He really didn't have much of a say in anything right now. His life belonged to his Hokage and right now Tsunade wanted Kakashi to get better while living with someone who didn't like him much. Life was just peachy, at the moment.

Kakashi climbed, with some difficulty, up the steps that led to his floor of the apartment complex and made his way to the door that marked his domain. Sure, everything behind the door was run down and he only had a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/dining room/living room area and most everything in those rooms to his name, but it was home and it was relatively safe and familiar and while he normally hated this place, he realized he wanted to stay here during his recovery. He'd missed his home and he wanted nothing more than to open the door and walk as quickly as he could to his bedroom and fall onto his well-worn mattress; he'd have to wait to call his dogs as his chakra was too low.

But should his caretaker decide he wanted to go back to his house, then to Iruka's they would go.

The jonin disabled the traps that ensured his home remained untouched, mildly surprised Naruto had bothered to re-do them, and entered after two months of absence. Iruka followed. Kakashi began to move around slowly, his lack of speed the only testament to the pain he was in, and began to gather things he would need. Only when he slowly sank onto his worn couch did the man notice Iruka had been watching him as he'd gone about packing.

The look in the teacher's eye made Kakashi mildly ill. Pity. The man was pitying him. Kakashi hated pity. He'd hated it when his father had committed suicide, when his entire genin team had died, when his Kushina and Minato had died when Kyuubi attacked Konoha; he'd lost everyone and the village pitied him. It was the one emotion Kakashi could not stand, not when directed at him because he'd always been the strong one and now he wasn't.

"We can stay here if you'd like."

"I can walk just fine. I'll not be the one to remove you from your comfort zone," Kakashi replied.

"What do you mean? You're injured."

"But I'm not broken. Just let me pack and-"

"Kakashi-san!" Iruka bellowed in his best teacher voice. "Sit your ass down."

Kakashi wisely did as he was told.

"You're too hurt to keep up this moving. We're staying here! You are going to march into that bedroom and go to sleep and I am going to get Naruto the Dead Lasts to go a pack up my stuff so I can keep an eye on your stupid ass," Iruka was getting his angry blush now.

"I don't need your pity!" Kakashi shouted back.

"And I'm not giving it! I'm worried for your health and you are not going to kill yourself being a stubborn ass!" Iruka pointed at the bedroom door. "Now get in there and I'll be in shortly to make sure you're doing as you're told."

Tense silence echoed through the apartment and Kakashi's jaw grinding was the only sound that could be heard. The two stubborn men glared at each other across the room, neither of them backing down for several minutes. Finally, Kakashi dropped his gaze as exhaustion caught up to him.

Who was he kidding? It was only through sheer force of will that Kakashi was even still holding his eyes open. He needed rest and food and a shower, in that order, and arguing with Iruka was just wasting his already dwindling reserves.

So lost in his self-chastisement, Kakashi completely missed the softening of Iruka's eyes, but he did notice when Iruka carefully slid strong arms into the tired jonin's armpits and carefully began to guide him upwards. Kakashi's entire body tensed.

Then Iruka said, "Come on, idiot. Let's get you to bed."

Kakashi wearily got to his feet and allowed Iruka to take most of his weight. While the contact still freaked him out, the man was just too tired, both mentally and physically, to care. So he didn't protest when Iruka stripped him and helped him into a pair of sleep pants or when he was helped into bed and covered with the thin summer blankets. The jonin knew Iruka still pitied him and his dropping of a challenge would only serve to strengthen that feeling, but what was done was done.

Then man allowed sleep to finally pull his drooping eyelids shut and the stillness took over his mind.

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_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Well, there you have it folks. Chapter one of __Stuck With You__! Tell me what you think. Did you love it? hate it? want to give me ideas? Do you see that review button down there? That's how you can let me know! Thank you for reading!_


	3. Tea

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Alrighty then! Chapter 2 even though says Chapter 3 (because it lies to us all)! I am in LOVE with this story. Y'all have no idea. I'm sorry Kakashi is so dark right now, but I aim to fix that as things progress. We'll all just have to be patient with our poor injured jonin…_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing but the plot and I'm sure it's pretty similar to several other works out there because apparently we've used up all the new ideas ages ago, but this one is mine! But not Naruto, and I'm kinda fine with that…_

_**Inspiration:**__ I've already told you twice, so go back and look… 'cause it's kinda lengthy to repeat._

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_Stuck With You_

_Chapter 2: Tea_

_By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise_

Kakashi's eyes flew open and darted about the room. Everything was familiar; the paint on the walls was still flaking, there was a water stain on the ceiling from when the apartment above had flooded, the dresser was still leaning against the wall. The room smelled of dog and weapons' polish and incense; the faint scent of stale coffee hid beneath everything else. Moonlight illuminated everything with a peaceful silver sheen; all of it was familiar, the pictures on the shelf, the sword on the wall, the kunai from his sensei teetering on the edge of the dresser. So why was he so scared? His breath came in gasps and his hand clenched the sheets in a white-knuckled grasp.

Then the pain registered. He was lying on his arm. Why was he lying on his arm? That was just stupid. Fucking hell, it hurt. Kakashi rolled over to the best of his ability and tried to calm down. Breathing was difficult. Why was it so difficult? It shouldn't be; he wasn't wearing his mask. Why wasn't he wearing his mask? They'd never taken his mask off before. Panic welled up in his chest, threatening to burst forth in the form of a scream. Why did he have to scream? He never screamed. Not even when they-

No; that never happened. It couldn't have. He was the strong one. He never got captured, never got hurt, never got-

Kakashi couldn't _(wouldn't)_ remember.

The jonin struggled to sit up, to get out of bed, to get some fresh air, but he collapsed because his legs refused to listen. Why wouldn't they listen? This was the ultimate betrayal, when the body refused to do as the brain commanded. He couldn't do anything; his leg hurt too badly and it wouldn't move. It was encased in plaster. It was broken. When had that happened? He couldn't remember.

Then he did remember and he wished he hadn't. Phantom memories of something striking his leg _(tearing, breaking, cracking, burning)_ caused his back to arch and his mouth to open in a silent scream because he never screamed, would never give them the satisfaction. A wide grey eye stared at the ceiling, unseeing. Loud, panting breaths bounced off the walls and to Kakashi's ears and the jonin couldn't believe his pain was so obvious. When had he stopped being silent as a wall?

The door opened and a man came in; Kakashi didn't know them, couldn't see their face. They'd never shown their faces, but he knew all their voices. Which one was in here now? How had they followed him home? He was supposed to be safe. Home was always safe.

Warm hands grasped a shaking, pale one and then the man spoke, "Come on, Kakashi. Back in bed. You shouldn't be up right now."

It wasn't any of his captors; the voice was too smooth, too kind. Then Kakashi remembered Iruka; forceful, fiery tempered, well-mannered academy teacher. Why was Iruka here? He shouldn't be-

Right. Iruka was taking care of him; Kakashi tightened his grip on the tan man's hands like his very life depended on maintaining contact. For all the jonin knew, his life _did_ depend on it. Iruka leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Kakashi's too-thin waist and carefully deposited the man back on the bed.

Kakashi pushed the other man away and carefully refused to make eye contact as he came back to himself. He'd broken down and Iruka had seen it. Just knowing that his weakness had been revealed had the man cringing. The jonin had never broken down in front of anyone since his sensei had died and he'd just gone and done it, not even remembering that someone else was in his apartment. How could he have betrayed himself like that?

Iruka's kind, but tired, voice pulled Kakashi from his musings.

"Kakashi-san, do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Kakashi stated firmly. He never wanted to talk about it because that would mean remembering it and that was something he would never do. Every therapist would say talking was healthy, but those therapists had probably never been in their patient's shoes. It was hard to remember because just simply remembering meant it had happened and nobody wanted what had happened to Kakashi to have been real.

"Fine," Iruka didn't push it. "Do you want some tea?"

Kakashi hesitated before nodding. He needed to calm down.

"Well, stay here then. I'll be right back."

Kakashi snorted in response.

Iruka left and Kakashi slumped forward, resting his head between his knees and threading his left hand through his hair. Right now he couldn't care less about how the position was putting pressure on his arm or how his breathing became that much harder. For some reason it was easier to calm down this way. Kakashi assumed it was because not as much oxygen was getting to the brain, so he couldn't register as much as when he was sitting up. If he was thinking this rationally then maybe Kakashi wasn't as out of it as he'd assumed. Maybe he'd be fine now.

Deep down the jonin knew that was a load of bullshit, but he could hope. If he could forget everything, then things would go back to the way they'd always been and Kakashi could get on with his life and train with his boys and not flinch at a simple touch.

A steaming mug was nudged against Kakashi's knee and very slowly Kakashi unrolled and took the mug in a still shaking hand.

"Careful," Iruka warned.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but handled the cup more carefully, if only to appease his houseguest. The jonin inhaled the fumes and felt relief wash over him. Memories of tea on Minato's deck with Obito and Rin after a summer rainstorm infiltrated Kakashi's thoughts and the man smirked into the rim of his mug. The arguments had always been ridiculous, but they'd seemed so important at the time, catching up every member of Team 7 in a whirlwind of words with minimal effort. He could feel Iruka's eyes on him, but he couldn't bring himself to get defensive; he was just too damn tired.

"Where are you sleeping?" Kakashi finally asked, surprised by the sound of his own voice. Was he really that out of practice at speaking?

"On the couch."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "I have a futon, you know."

"No, I didn't. You were a little unconscious when I'd finally gotten my stuff moved in," Iruka smirked wryly. "May I ask where you keep it?"

"The closet by the bathroom," Kakashi replied.

A few moments of silence passed, than Kakashi asked, "How long have I been out?"

"About two days."

"Lovely… I'm hungry."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't. I can make something, if you'd like," Iruka offered.

"Would you?"

And suddenly Kakashi was struck by just how civil they were being. There was no yelling or throwing things or threats, just two men sitting up in the middle of the night having a cup of tea as though one of those men had never had a relapse into his captivity and woken the other. It was surprising to say the least.

When would they start fighting again? Kakashi wondered. It was all well and good that Iruka wasn't mentioning Kakashi's attack, but this breech in the status quo had Kakashi feeling distinctly off kilter. He didn't handle abrupt change well; if change happened at all, he preferred to keep it all smooth and simple, gradual-like. He was almost hoping Iruka would get angry at him. The jonin knew how to handle angry, but this calm, caring version of the Chunnin was completely foreign to him.

Finally the teacher stood up and left the room, talking over his shoulder as he went, "Anything in particular you'd like to eat?"

"Something mild, please," Kakashi murmured, still holding his mug to his lips. He hadn't tasted the tea, yet, just inhaled the scent, but he'd at least keep up appearances.

After a few minutes Kakashi realized he had to pee. Great. Just wonderful. How in the world was he going to do this without Iruka's help because the teacher was _not_ going to help him relieve himself. That would just never happen. It was bad enough that Iruka had to dress the jonin; Kakashi would not add the humiliation of needing assistance to pee to the list of things that would humiliate him before he was completely healed.

Kakashi carefully set his untouched tea on the bedside table and grasped his cane. He was going to try this by himself and calling Iruka would be only a last resort, hopefully one on which Kakashi would never have to call. The jonin made his way to the bathroom, aware of Iruka's eyes on his progress across the apartment, but he didn't let that show. He entered the bathroom and managed to do his business without any help. Luckily, his toilet was in a corner, so Kakashi could lean when he needed to.

The jonin washed his hand to the best of his ability and made his way back to the main room, slowly sinking into the couch because standing was just making him shake.

"You left your tea in the bedroom, didn't you?" Iruka questioned.

Kakashi just stared blankly at the man. Of course he'd left his tea in the bedroom; he couldn't very well carry it in this state, now, could he? Iruka huffed and stomped off into the bedroom to retrieve the mug, leaving Kakashi to wonder at his odd behavior. Surely the teacher could wait until after to food was done, right? Apparently not, because as soon as Kakashi wondered at it, Iruka came marching back out, mug in hand. Well that was odd.

"The mug wasn't going anywhere. It could have waited," Kakashi felt he should point that out, just in case Iruka had forgotten.

"Oh, I know, but I would know it was there and it would drive me crazy," Iruka nodded and poured the liquid into the sink and rinsing out the ceramic.

Well, that was definitely odd, completely at odds with how Kakashi lived. Maybe this place would get cleaned up while this Chunnin was living here. The jonin hardly ever had time to himself and what little time he did have, he did not spend on housekeeping unless it was absolutely necessary. If it were just himself here, Kakashi would have left the mug to sit for a couple of days before he finally decided to moving to the kitchen. Then it would sit in the sink until Kakashi was feeling up to doing the dishes; Iruka simply washed the mug right there. Then he turned back to the rice.

Iruka glanced up from what he was doing, a question written on his face. Kakashi simply shrugged; he'd keep his observations to himself for the time being. Iruka did not need an excuse to lose his temper. It was surprising that he'd managed so far.

When the very late dinner was ready, Iruka dished it into simple bowls and brought it and two pairs of chopsticks over to the low coffee table that doubled as the dining table and a footrest. Kakashi glared at the eating utensils. They were mocking him; he could hear their laughter. They knew he had no way of using them and holding his bowl and it made Kakashi so upset. Iruka would have to feed him.

Grey eyes glanced wearily up at the brunet who had already begun eating. Kakashi sighed. He couldn't even get lower to the table so he didn't have to hold the bowl. The jonin leaned back into the couch and glared at the ceiling. The universe was deliberately making this difficult, wasn't it? His pride was taking a hard beating, but no matter how hungry he was, he would never ask for help. He hadn't in that prison; he wouldn't in his own home.

"Kakashi-san, do you need help?" Iruka asked after several minutes of Kakashi's useless glaring at the off-white ceiling.

The jonin gritted his teeth and nodded. It was one of the hardest things the man had ever had to do, almost harder than living while all of the people he cared about died around him.

Kakashi heard Iruka get up and move around the table, heard the sound of chopsticks hitting the wooden bowl and finally glanced over to see the tan man sitting next to him on the couch, holding Kakashi's dish and chopsticks. The silver-haired man slowly sat up and allowed Iruka to feed him, doing his best to ignore the fact that he'd seen Minato and Kushina do this to each other just because. His parents had done this too, before his mother had died, and Kakashi associated it with marriage and love. It was intimate and it made Kakashi uncomfortable.

Iruka didn't seem to have the same problem with it, though, probably having done this for numerous children, Naruto included, so Kakashi didn't let his discomfort show, just took the bites as they were offered, chewed and swallowed. He only made it through a quarter of the bowl before he felt uncomfortably full.

The jonin leaned back and let the Chunnin know and Iruka went about cleaning up from their midnight dinner, making Kakashi feel completely useless. Iruka had cooked the dinner, he should have to clean up from it, too, but there was no way Kakashi could help; he could barely take care of himself right now. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

"You should go back to bed now," Iruka said quietly. "You need more rest."

"I'm not ready to, yet," Kakashi argued.

"Well, that's just too bad. You need rest and you're going to get it," Iruka rinsed out the rice pan as he spoke. "I'll probably move the futon into your room, just in case."

Kakashi knew that was as close as Iruka was going to come to mentioning what had happened earlier, but Kakashi wasn't going to deny the man the right to sleep in a bedroom, even if Kakashi despised roommates, even if he desperately wanted to tell the teacher he didn't need him there. Something about going back into that room alone was utterly terrifying and Kakashi didn't understand it. Maybe there wouldn't be a problem with letting Iruka stay in there with him.

"Fine."

Kakashi got himself to his feet and limped his way to his bedroom to the sounds of Iruka pulling the futon out of the closet. The jonin settled himself into his bed, carefully leaning the cane against the wall by the bed, and watched Iruka move the futon and all the bedding that had been on the couch into the semi-dark bedroom. When everything was finally settled, Iruka went through the apartment and made sure all of the electronics were off before finally coming into the bedroom and closing the door behind him.

The jonin heard Iruka shuffle about a bit before the sounds of rustling fabric met his ears. Then there was silence until Iruka said, "Sleep, Kakashi-san."

The silver-haired man snorted and closed his eyes. He was caught completely by surprise when sleep finally jumped him. He hadn't even felt the least bit tired.

When Kakashi next woke, the sun was shining merrily into his bedroom, which faced west, and Iruka's futon was noticeably empty. How long had he been out this time? Kakashi didn't know or care. He cautiously stumbled out of bed, out of the bedroom and to the bathroom, where he relieved himself. Then he noticed something that he probably should have noticed right away.

Iruka hadn't been in the apartment.

What day was it, anyway? He was hungry again. Kakashi leaned heavily on his cane and walked back out to the main room, glancing around just to be sure he hadn't missed anything. He hadn't; Iruka was conspicuously absent. It wasn't like there were many places he could hide in this dump anyway. Kakashi rolled his eyes and decided not to worry about it. Iruka would show up eventually, but for now he'd just have to make due.

The man made his way to the kitchen and blinked at what he found on the counter. There was a plate of food covered in a towel with a note from Iruka. Apparently he'd gone shopping. Kakashi limped closer to the plate and pulled the towel off; all of the food on it was easily digestible and could be eaten with fingers, without help. That was strangely thoughtful of Iruka.

Kakashi glanced around the kitchen and noticed the conspicuous lack of coffee in the coffee pot. The jonin frowned. Could he manage that without fucking up, needing help? He wasn't sure, but he figured he'd try. He made his way to the pot and very carefully leaned against the counter before reaching into the cupboard with his good arm to pull out the can of coffee grounds and the filters.

So far so good. The water was a bit tricky, but he only needed enough to make about two mugs, so he could carry the water in his right hand because it wasn't too heavy. He'd just made it to scooping the coffee grounds when someone disabled the traps at his door. It had better be Iruka or one of his boys, otherwise he was fucked.

Grey eyes dilated as they watched the door open. Tension that had been gathering in Kakashi's muscles disappeared as soon as Iruka's familiar hairstyle poked around the door, followed shortly by the rest of the Chunnin, heavily laden with paper bags full of groceries. Iruka kicked the door closed and took off his shoes before finally looking up.

Kakashi sighed. He'd just made Iruka angry at him. He'd learned to recognize the signs long ago. Iruka's brow crinkled and his mouth drew into a thin line. Then the glare came.

"Kakashi-san, just what do you think you're doing?"

Well, at least the teacher wasn't yelling yet.

"Making coffee."

"Coffee is the last thing you need right now. Go sit down. You need to eat something."

Iruka set the bags down on the counter and shooed Kakashi away from the counter against which he was leaning.

"Are you addicted to anything, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked mildly as he allowed himself to be herded to the couch. "I'm addicted to caffeine and when I don't get that caffeine, I get bitchy and I'd rather not send you running for the hills just yet."

"Then I'll get you some caffeinated tea; it's better for you than coffee, anyways."

"No. it's not the same. You can't taste the caffeine when you drink tea. Plus, it's a comfort thing. Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. That's how it's always been," Kakashi explained as he sat on the couch. This man was not taking away his coffee. Two months was quite enough, thank you!

"It's really that important to you?" Iruka came back to the couch with Kakashi's plate and set it down on the table.

"Yes. I've gone two months without it, probably more, now that I think about it, and I want some," Kakashi said firmly.

Iruka sighed, "Fine." Then the man went back to the kitchen and finished what Kakashi had started.

"You really shouldn't have been moving around so much, you know," Iruka admonished as he unpacked the bags.

"Probably not, but it couldn't really be helped." A pause. "I think I need to have my bandages changed… maybe a shower, while I'm at it."

"I changed you bandages earlier this morning; you were still pretty out of it, but I think I could arrange a shower."

"Lovely," Kakashi smirked. Then he set about eating what he could from the plate while the scent of coffee slowly permeated the air. After a few minutes of silence, broken only by the sounds of opening and closing cupboards, Kakashi asked, "Could you bring me my book?"

"Porn, Kakashi-san? Really?" Iruka looked simply put out, hands on his hips, frown marring his tan features. "I don't think that's suitable reading material, all things considered."

Kakashi did know to what Iruka was referring, but the jonin didn't want to read porn. He simply wanted a book: Shakespeare, Tolkien, Lewis, Dickens, Salvatore, Eddings. He didn't give a damn. He wanted to read.

Something must have been revealed on his face because Iruka's eyes softened a little, the furrow between chocolate brows melting away.

"Well, aren't you just a poor, misunderstood porn addict?" Iruka teased. Then the man shook his head. "Shower first. Then you can read to your heart's content, as long as you're in bed."

"I guess I hadn't realized how badly you wanted to get me into bed, sensei," Kakashi teased and watched Iruka's face turn a wonderful shade of red. Good, things were going well, then, and Kakashi hadn't completely lost his skill at irritating the teacher. Sure, sometimes, being yelled at was tedious, but not when it was deliberately provoked.

"Kakashi, I do not think that those remarks are appropriate."

"That was a disappointment, sensei. I was expecting something a little more explosive, louder definitely."

Iruka glared. Kakashi smiled innocently.

"Do you want your shower today?"

"It would be very much appreciated, yes," Kakashi leaned back and closed his uncovered eye.

"Then behave!"

And with that, Iruka finished his task and stomped to the bathroom to get the water going.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ And there's chapter 2! Yay! Kakashi got some of his teasing back towards the end, but he is most definitely not out of the woods yet. Showers happening next chapter! Yeeeayyuh! That'll be fun… -rubs hands together- What else was there…? OH, yes! The entire last half of the chapter, I couldn't stop picturing these two speaking with British accents… I don't know why, but it seemed kinda important insight into my mind as I made a note of it in the rough draft, but now I don't remember what I was thinking… Yeah, anyway, thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it!_


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